It's August 1, 1977! Hogwarts is still closed to everyone! We have blue skies and it's surprisingly warm. So everyone should go out and enjoy the nice fresh air while we still can. Shops will be open soon so students may purchase their supplies

The two came in and Joc gave Kat a look when she didn't protest to Sirius pulling out her chair for her. "Its a drink Sirius. And Kat how would me proposing to a statue make your boyfriend feel better, I'm sure it would make you feel better though cause then you know someone else has done it too." Joc smirked back.

Sirius laughed when Joclynn gave him a smart remark. "Well I can see that Joclynn. Are you legally allowed to be drinking this quite yet? If not I may just have to confiscate that from you." Sirius said reaching over to her drink. He wasn't sure if she actually was legal, but he was kind of just hoping for a sip of her drink. He laughed as the girls talked about proposing to statues again. "This statue must be something special from what you tow say about him."

Joc swatted Sirius' hand away when he reached for her drink. "A lady never states her age, but I am able to legally have this drink the bartender had the same question." Joc stuck out her tongue at him. "If you want a sip just ask. She has a name you know but I doubt Kat could even tell you it since she's only seen her the once."

Sirius made a face at Joclynn. "My deepest apologies Joclynn. I forgot it is a horrible crime to ask a lady how old she is. I was merely curious if I had to confiscate this from you." He rolled his eyes when she stuck her tongue out at him. Then he smiled, "Can I have a sip?" he asked making a puppy dog face and batting his eyes. "Wait a second the statue was a girl?!"

"It'd make the staute fell better." Kat laughed as Sirius got his hand swatted by Joc. "Sirius, why don't you just get your own if you want a drink that badly?" Joc would give him some if he asked but it would be easier just to get his own, plus she could steal some from him then too. "The staute was totally a guy but I didn't even know stautes could have names." She glared at her friend.

“If you stop calling me Joclynn you’re forgiven. You may have a sip. Would you like one Kat?” She asked, knowing her friend did, but still gave her a chance to say no. “It was a girl she just had short hair, you were drunk remember?” Joc smirked at her friend. “She wasn’t always a statue, she was cursed in the early 18th century when she cheated on her fiancé, her name is Genevieve, I talk to her sometimes.” Joc smiled thinking about it.

Sirius smiled at Joclynn, "Alright then Joc." He reached over to her glass and took it without being swatted away. He grinned and took a sip. It burned like it was supposed to on the way down. He tuned back into the conversation the girls were having about the statue. "Er - how do you know so much about this statue?" he asked Joclynn.

“Thank you,” she always thought her name sounded too formal and was glad that Sirius wouldn’t be calling her by it anymore. “Like I said sometimes I talk to her. Despite her mistake she’s learned from it and is very curious about the world outside, so we swap stories about our lives and the worlds we live in. Its actually kinda nice to get firsthand accounts of the past.”

Sirius smiled as he listened to Joclynn's tale. "That's pretty cool. You know a whole hell of a lot better than history of magic. Let's face it no one ever pays attention in that class." he said smiling and laughing. He actually did find it interesting that she swapped stories with the statue. Then he smiled to himself, "You know I actually don't find it strange that you do that. I don't tell many people this but when I forget the password to Gryffindor tower, which happens a lot, or if I have some extra time on my hands, I talk to the Fat Lady. She tells me funny stories and rumors and I tell her about all my mates and my adventures." he smiled, he hoped that they didn't think that was weird or anything. Well he knew Joclynn's wouldn't but maybe Katherine would.

“Yeah you not only learn a lot more but its first hand so its more accurate.” Joc smiled hearing that Sirius did pretty much the same thing as she did. “I’m sure the Fat Lady hears quite a bit since people don’t always remember that the paintings are all too aware of whats going on around them.” Joc remembered a few of the times that shes heard the paintings gossiping around her when they didn’t know she was there.

"Thanks Joc." She said as she took the bottle from Sirius and took a long drink. "Why do you have this and soda?" She laughed as her friend pointed out her drunked state from that night again. "I swear it was a guy. I didn't realize you brought Genevieve." She let Joc explain how they knew Genevieve to Sirius. "She know history a lot better and makes it more exciting than the professors at school ever do." She smiled as Sirius revealed talking to the Fat Lady. She found it cute that he did that. "The Fat Lady is fun to talk to, especially when she tells you the gossip from the house, and its even better because most of the time I talk to her the mauraders are brought up."

Sirius laughed as he just noticed the soda. The whiskey was probably just a tad stronger than Joclynn was used to. It had happened to him several times before, no big deal. He smiled and laughed as Kat and Joclynn told him all about Genevieve and how they knew her. "Hm, interesting." he said laughing. He couldn't help but smile as Kat talked about the Fat Lady. "I love that woman. I talk to her all the time!" Sirius said laughing. "But now I have to talk to her about sharing my secrets with others from our house. That's not cool. But what kind of stuff does she say about us?" he asked curiously. The Fat Lady was one of the first people to start spreading around the nickname the Marauders had made up for themselves. For the longest time it was how they signed their pranks anonymously, bu eventually everyone figured out who it was.

"She really is fun to talk to. She gives pretty good advice too, considering she knows more about what goes on than most students do." She smiled sweetly at Sirius. "What she has told me is top secret and not to be repeated." She pretended to zip her lips shut and then lock them with an invisible key. She remembered how she learned the nicknames for all of the Mauraders and learned about some of their other activites that most didn't know about. "Anyways she doesn't tell everyone about you guys. Only certain people. She seems to have a crush on a couple of guys though." Kat smirked at him and winked.

“The drinks a bit stronger then usual, Kat.” Joc smiled hearing about Kat talking to the Fat Lady too. “You never told me you talked to Fat Lady Kat, when did this start? There isn’t a painting guarding our entrance but the paintings in the area are quite the gossips when given the chance from what I’ve heard. I hate hanging around down there so I haven’t really ever talked with them.”

"Well saying that I tell her most if the gossip she tells other people, I think I have the authority to be able to know." Sirius said leaning in close to Kat. He smiled at her and undid the motion of Kat zipping her lips. "You can tell me. Saying that she was probably the one who told you all about me and the guys being called the Marauders and some of our nicknames." The one thing he had never told the Fat Lady was the Marauders biggest secret, what all the nicknames meant, so he knew that that secret was still perfectly safe. "And really? Who might she have a crush on?" he asked Kat. Then he smiled at Joclynn, "Tsk tsk Katie, keeping secrets is no good. But obviously it isn't that often, I'm there all the time and I've never seen Kat talking to her. And Joclynn, the Fat Lady is pretty cool. But she tells everyone everything" he said smiling. "You're not missing much by not talking to portraits. Even if they are good company sometimes."

"I overheard you guys using the nicknames before she told me that. And I am not going to reveal all my secret blackmail Padfoot" She smiled innocently at him, trying to get him to drop that topic. "It's very obvious who she has a crush on. She talks about them all the time." Sirius then turned to Joc and ended up digging Kat a bigger hole. "I only talk to her late at night if I can't sleep or you are available to talk to." She shrugged like it was no big deal.

Sirius’ smiled slipped off his face as Katherine called him Padfoot. The guys always called him that in public and it never bothered him, but it just made him feel awkward when Kat called him that. He didn’t want to be rude so he bit his tongue. As long as she had no clue what it meant and never called him that again. He felt less bothered when the conversation went back to the Fat Lady. ”Oh really? And who is this?” he asked, his curiosity taking over again. He noticed that Kat seemed to be acting a little odd. But he didn’t say anything, this was between Joclynn and Kat at the moment, he didn’t feel that she wanted him to say anything else at the moment.

She noticed Sirius' smile slip and made a mental note not to use his nickname anymore, even if she was just joking. "A lady never reveals a crush of another lady, person or portrait." She smiled. She was running out of reasons to keep her 'secret' information a secret. "My one hint is that the Fat Lady has a crush on someone or someones from our house." She looked at Sirius, daring him with her eyes to guess.

Sirius rolled his eyes at Katherine and frowned. "Oh please, Joclynn here told us about the wall of admiration not so long ago. It's obvious that who a woman fancies is not kept secret long." he said smirking. She knew that he was right. There were always rumors flying around about who liked who. Crushed were never truly kept secret at Hogwarts. "So they're a Gryffindor?" he said as he paused to think. "That's an easy one. It's obviously me." he said arrogantly while smirking. He had no idea if he was right, but it was always worth a guess.

She noticed Sirius roll his eyes and instantly frowned. "The wall of admiration is only for her house though, not ours. And who a woman fancies can stay a secret for a long time if trusted to the right people. The person I fancied never figured it out for a year." She instantly felt herself go a little red. She hadn't meant to say the last part and knew Sirius would want to talk about it. "It's not like the Fat Lady gets close to students in other houses, so it would have to be Gryffindor." She laughed when he guessed himself. "Only you would guess yourself.." She smiled at his arrogant smirk and kissed him. "But yes, the Fat Lady is crushing on you and on James too."

Joc noticed a change in Kat but didn’t know what it could be about so she decided to ignore it for the time being. “Telling you about the wall and telling you who fancies you are completely separate things, Sirius. Are we a little full of ourselves? “Joc asked Sirius with a smile. She knew it was mostly just confidence the way he acted but couldn’t not tease him. She was actually a bit envious of it at times how confident he was in himself, she wished quite often that she was as confident herself.

Sirius noticed Kat frown and couldn't help but feel his smile fade a bit. When she went red his curiosity naturally soared through the roof. "Oh really?" he asked tentatively. He wanted to say more but he was going to wait and see if Kat told him first or if he'd have to start asking questions. He smiled when Kat and Joclynn poked fun at his arrogance, "I may or may not think I'm perfect in every way shape or form." he lied as several flaws came immediately to mind. "Does that make me arrogant?" he asked innocently, keeping up the charade. Kat kissed him on the cheek and he grinned happily at her. "Aha!" he exclaimed happily. "I called that one! But naturally she'd crush on James too, he's a good looking bloke." he said smiling and laughing.

"Yes. My crush can be dim-witted at times, and no I shall not tell you who." She tried to make her voice firm as to say end of the discussion, but she knew it wouldn't work on Sirius. Kat rolled her eyes. "I'm not so sure about this you being perfect thing. Now me being perfect is more likely than you." She laughed at her friends reaction, as well as her boyfriends. "By the way, your statement is filled with arrogence." She smiled brightly at Sirius' reaction of being right. "Well, it can't be helped that she has such odd taste in men." She smirked and then squeezed his leg under the table.

“I could tell him your crush Kat, not that it’d be that hard to guess.” She teased with a smile. Joc laughed when Kat said she may be perfect, “I’m sure I’m more perfect then either of you.” She stated matter-of-factly. “Sirius and James aren’t all that odd compared to many of the other guys in school.” She took another swig of drink.

Sirius' face turned serious although he was laughing on the inside. "Well then, I'm sorry Kat. If you fancy another man...well this isn't going to work." he said jesturing to the two of them indicating their relationship. "I hope you're happy with this other bloke." he said solemnly.Sirius scoffed at Joclynn's statement, "Rubbish. Have you ever met a man more charming and stunning than me?" he asked smiling. "I'm kidding of course, you two are perfect the way that you are. Any bloke would be lucky to have either of you." he said smiling at the two girls sincerely. "And me? Arrogant? Hah! You lie Katherine." he added laughing.Sirius turned and smiled at Kat after Joclynn spoke. "See that? Joclynn doesn't think me and James are odd. She knows how to be nice to me." he said feigning a glare at Kat.